CHANDIGARH: Life was hit across Punjab due to a 'bandh' imposed by farmers who have been agitating against the Centre for a legal guarantee of a minimum support price for their crops.
Rail and road traffic was crippled and commercial establishments remained shut in several places of the state.
Farmers staged 'dharnas' on several roads and highways including in Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Pathankot as part of their bandh call from 7 am to 4 pm, throwing commuter traffic out of gear.
A call for a statewide shutdown was given over a week ago by Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha over the Centre not acting on the farmers' demand for a legal guarantee for the MSP.
The bandh was also enforced to express solidarity with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal who has been on a fast for the last 35 days at Khanauri border protest site of farmers.
Due to the bandh, public transport services were impacted. Streets were bereft of even carts and rickshaws. Buses were a rare sight as employees of the state-run PRTC and some private operators suspended bus services in solidarity with farmers. 221 trains were thrown off schedule, of which 163 were cancelled; Vande Bharat and Shatabdi Express trains were also among trains impacted.
Additionally, air fare skyrocketed, with tickets for travel between Chandigarh and Delhi selling at Rs 19,000 instead of the usual Rs 3,000. As most airlines have not shown the booking prices for flights online, tickets were available only at the airport or through their dedicated websites.
"Depending on the timing of the day, tickets were available at a premium as daytime tickets were expensive but the evening tickets were cheaper,’’ said a travel agent.
Furthermore, prominent markets in all districts of Punjab were closed. Banks, though open, were empty.
Farmers parked their tractors and trailers in the middle of the roads, effectively blocking transportation. They assembled around bonfires, providing slight relief from the cold weather, and put up loudspeakers playing slogans seeking support for their cause. They offered tea and biscuits to inconvenienced commuters and even set up a few langar (community kitchen).
In Jalandhar, main markets were closed and public transport paused. Passengers waited for their buses and trains, hoping for an early end to the bandh.
At Dhanowali village, farmer unions gathered and blocked the NH-1. Only ambulances were allowed to go. The farmers also observed a sit-in at Dhareri Jattan Toll Plaza which affected vehicular movement on the Patiala-Chandigarh Highway. The farmers staged a dharna near the Sugarmill crossing on NH-44 in Phagwara blocking the roads leading from Phagwara towards Nakodar, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr. They also staged a dharna at Behram toll plaza on Phagwara-Banga road. The grain markets were shut in several places. The farmers have organised Langar for commuters from outside state who are stuck in Bhogpur in Jalandhar.
At Golden Gate in Amritsar, farmers assembled near the city's entry point and the police there assisted some stranded foreign tourists by arranging auto rickshaws for them to reach the Golden Temple.
In Rampura Phul, Bathinda, they blocked roads besides at Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, and Pathankot. While in SAS Nagar district, markets were deserted and hardly any traffic on the roads. The farmers had installed blockades at Landra Chowk in Mohali. Similar blockades were also installed in Banur and Kharar.
In the Ludhiana district farmer blocked traffic at 17 places, markets like Chaura Bazar, Saban Bazar, Vishwakarma Chowk, Gill Road and Sarabha Nagar had few shops open. The city's main bus stand was completely bereft of any traffic. The national highway-Khanna, Main Samrala Chowk and Ghulal Toll Plaza on Ludhiana-Samrala road were some of these places.
In Bathinda, all but a few chemist shops were found shut. While the roads from Bathinda to Amritsar, Sri Ganganagar, and Muktsar were blocked by BKU Sidhupur activists, whose leader Ram Singh Deon, addressing the farmers, said, "This is a fight for our crops and for our future generations," he said.
Patients travelling to the PGI from far-off places were stuck a few kilometers away from their destination at Baroudi toll plaza near New Chandigarh where farmer union members allowed passage to them and ambulances only after seeing OPD cards or hearing a back call from the concerned department. The airport road was also blocked under the railway over bridge near the IISER light-point.
Buses took alternate routes to go from Ambala to Chandigarh as they had to cross a stretch of the national highway that passes through Punjab. Many outsiders studying in various coaching centres in Chandigarh faced a tough time reaching their destinations.
The disruption also left hundreds of passengers stranded at Kurukshetra railway station in Haryana. A cancer patient from Gujarat was stranded at a train station in Ferozepur. His wife said they had to go to Himachal Pradesh to get some medicines for him, but with train services hit, they were left in a lurch.
The bandh's impact was also seen in some neighboring areas of the state, including Ambala in Haryana as hundreds of daily commuters travelling from Ambala to Chandigarh, Mohali, Patiala and other nearby cities of Punjab were thrown off stride because of the shutdown.
Farmer leader Sharvan Singh Pandher claimed that the residents of the state have extended their support to the statewide shutdown wholeheartedly and more than 280 blockades were put which disrupted road and rail services in the state.
"As per the information I am getting, people have supported this bandh. Since morning, almost 90-99 per cent traffic was not on the roads. It means, Punjabis have extended their support to this bandh wholeheartedly," he said.
Former Additional DGP Jaskaran Singh was at Khanauri border to hold talks with farmers. He is accompanied by a team of medical practitioners to check Dallewal.
Leader of opposition and senior congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa wrote on X, "Reports of heavy police deployment at Patiala Police Lines are deeply concerning. Is this meant to intimidate or harm peaceful farmers, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on the 35th day of his hunger strike? If any harm comes to the farmers, CM @BhagwantMann will bear full responsibility. Betraying Punjab farmers and ignoring their demands is unforgivable."
Meanwhile, 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike entered its 35th day on Monday. Dallewal has so far refused medical treatment.
Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border demanding a legal guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Dallewal had earlier said he would not break his fast until the government agreed to the farmers' demands.
The apex court has given the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade Dallewal to shift to a hospital, granting the state the liberty to seek logistical support from the Centre, if necessary.
Farmers, under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13, after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.
A "jatha" (group) of 101 farmers attempted to march to Delhi on foot three times between December 6 and 14 but were stopped by security personnel from Haryana.
Besides the MSP, farmers are also demanding a debt waiver, pension, no hike in electricity tariffs, withdrawal of police cases, and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
(With inputs from PTI)
